Friend: Gilman denied contact

Friday

May 24, 2013 at 6:00 AMMay 24, 2013 at 12:23 PM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

In response to a fellow teacher's query, David A. Gilman denied touching a 12-year-old female student, but said his online conversations with the girl would make it appear that he had, a jury was told Thursday.

Mr. Gilman, a 44-year-old former music teacher at Leicester Middle School, is on trial in Worcester Superior Court on charges of aggravated child rape and aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child involving allegations that he sexually abused one of his seventh-grade students in 2009.

Christine Bugbee, a math teacher who was on the faculty of the middle school when the allegations surfaced, was called to the witness stand Thursday morning by Assistant District Attorney Courtney Sans.

Ms. Bugbee, who described herself as a “very close” friend of Mr. Gilman at the time, said she asked him after he had been relieved of his duties at the school whether he did the things he was accused of doing.

“I asked him, 'Did you do it?' He said, 'No, but it will look like I did,' ” Ms. Bugbee testified. When shown a copy of a statement she gave to authorities, Ms. Bugbee said Mr. Gilman actually responded to her question by saying, “It would look like he did it with the online conversations.”

Throughout her two days of testimony in the case, the girl, now 16, was asked to read from a transcript of Facebook chats she said she had with Mr. Gilman when she was one of his students. According to the transcript, the girl and Mr. Gilman often expressed their love for one another. Some of the online conversations were sexually explicit.

The girl testified that her music teacher kissed her, fondled her and sexually touched her at various times from Oct. 30 to about Dec. 14, 2009, in either the music room or band room at the middle school.

Ms. Bugbee, formerly Christine Brewster, also testified that upon discovering that several middle school students were among his Facebook “friends,” she advised Mr. Gilman that it was probably not a good idea to befriend current students on the social media site.

“He really didn't respond,” she said.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Gilman's lawyer, Michael G. Cashman, Ms. Bugbee, agreed that the specific question she posed to Mr. Gilman was whether there had been any physical contact between him and the girl.

She again said Mr. Gilman's response was that there had been no physical contact, but that the words spoken online would make it appear otherwise.

In his opening statement to the jury, Mr. Cashman said his client did not dispute writing the Facebook messages that were being offered into evidence, but denied kissing or touching the girl inappropriately. The defense lawyer said the online chats occurred at a time when Mr. Gilman was drinking heavily and his marriage was deteriorating.

Ms. Sans rested the prosecution's case Thursday.

Mr. Cashman told the jury in his opening statement that Mr. Gilman would testify in his own defense.